Export thread

Here's a You Tube video showing methods for testing spark plugs with an ohmmeter.

Comments are invited.

90% of people don’t own a VOM or know how to use it, so we are talking about 10% of people could benefit. Of that 10%, 9% are technicians who know that it is faster, easier and cheaper to just replace the plug. Looks like a guy looking for U-tube advertising dollars.

Rivets said:

90% of people don’t own a VOM or know how to use it, so we are talking about 10% of people could benefit. Of that 10%, 9% are technicians who know that it is faster, easier and cheaper to just replace the plug. Looks like a guy looking for U-tube advertising dollars.

Click to expand...

Ummm. So your method is guessing and supposing what the problem might be, preferring that to testing your theory and knowing for sure?

-Could be a bad spark plug --- replace it.

-Could be a dirty carb ----replace it.

- Could be a bad coil ----replace it.

And so on.

In the furnace repair bus I was part of, this kind of guessing was the mark of a poor repairman.

The good repairman had a extensive skills in how to test possibly defective parts, and tended to work his way through a series of tests until he was confident he had identified the actual problem.

I had quite a bit of experience with repairmen of the poor type because I often followed along behind them when their repairs didn't actually fix the problem, which recurred.

I do note, however, that B&S maintenance requirements often specify replacing spark plugs after a few hundred hours of machine operation as a matter of routine maintenance. I suppose that would justify routine replacement of spark plugs, but you still aren't really going to know if the plug was the problem or whether you should look further.

Using an ohmmeter to test a spark plug is pretty much useless. When i worked at a small airport one summer i tested spark plugs. After the plugs were cleaned you put them in a machine that pressurized the plug to a few hundred PSi then you turn up the voltage and measure how much voltage it takes to fire the plug and checked the plug doesn't arc across the insulator.

If you would read my post you would see I said replace the plug. Never said anything about any other parts. A good repair man knows how to read and understand the printed word. I guess you think I’m a pretty poor repairman and you are entitled to that opinion, but I disagree.

I never ever ever put a ohm meter on a plug for checking condition of a plug. His video talked a lot about resistive spark plugs that's all well and good. But if it's just a cheapo mower plug there isn't much to check.
I always looked at the condition of the spark and went from there...

Rivets said:

If you would read my post you would see I said replace the plug. Never said anything about any other parts. A good repair man knows how to read and understand the printed word. I guess you think I’m a pretty poor repairman and you are entitled to that opinion, but I disagree.

Click to expand...

Simply replacing the spark plug isn't going to tell you whether it was the problem. That would be especially true for intermittent problems, which as a furnace repairman I often found the hardest to diagnose.

Especially with intermittent problems that I couldn't diagnose definitively, I sometimes found the best thing I could do was to do all scheduled or routine maintenance and perhaps replacing any parts that appeared to be worn or marginal. That might or might not solve the complained of problem. If the problem recurred, at least I could be pretty sure that it wasn't a matter of neglected maintenance.

<< I guess you think I’m a pretty poor repairman and you are entitled to that opinion, but I disagree.>>


Not at all. But I am interested in why you might that you prefer to replace a plug rather than try to identify whether it is the actual cause of a problem. Your stated reason for that was that you didn't find it worth while to find out. Perhaps that's defensible, but it doesn't appear to be a high standard.

Hammermechanicman said:

Using an ohmmeter to test a spark plug is pretty much useless. When i worked at a small airport one summer i tested spark plugs. After the plugs were cleaned you put them in a machine that pressurized the plug to a few hundred PSi then you turn up the voltage and measure how much voltage it takes to fire the plug and checked the plug doesn't arc across the insulator.

Click to expand...

What was the reason for doing an elaborate test rather than simply replacing the plugs with new ones? Under what circumstances would plugs be subjected to this kind of test -----as a matter of routine or when diagnosing a problem? Were new plugs tested in this way?

I'm reminded of the ETOPS standard of equipment standards for aircraft venturing over oceans: the high standards were jokingly referred to as Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim ---ETOPS!

If you have to ask that question, you have never wo in the small engine industry. You are comparing a small engine to an HVAC system, which is like comparing males to females. My couple of years of experience have told me that it is cheaper to replace the plug when ever it may be part of the problem. Secondly, have you ever tested a part good only to have it fail a short time later. Labor rate around here is $80/hr, do you want me to get out my VOM and spend the time testing the plug, instead of just replacing a $3.50 part in two minutes.

You can't look at a spark plug and tell if it is good or not. You need special equipment to test a spark plug. For $2 it is more expedient for a shop to replace a plug and see is that solves a spark issue rather than looking for a high tension spark plug tester. Some of us buffons running small engine shops may have some skills other than mowers. I serviced printing equipment for 40 years. Some of it multi million dollar systems with some single repair parts costing thousands of dollars. You better be able to troubleshoot logically or else look for another job

when aircraft were in for scheduled maint the plugs were removed, cleaned and tested. If they failed they wefe replaced. Some radial engines have 36 cylinders with two plugs per cylinder and 2 or 4 engines. With 2 engines that is 144 plugs and at close to $10 a plug aircraft owners don't want to drop an extra $1500 for plugs. Yes we tested and documented new plugs.

seattlepioneer said:

Ummm. So your method is guessing and supposing what the problem might be, preferring that to testing your theory and knowing for sure?

-Could be a bad spark plug --- replace it.

-Could be a dirty carb ----replace it.

- Could be a bad coil ----replace it.

And so on.

In the furnace repair bus I was part of, this kind of guessing was the mark of a poor repairman.

The good repairman had a extensive skills in how to test possibly defective parts, and tended to work his way through a series of tests until he was confident he had identified the actual problem.

I had quite a bit of experience with repairmen of the poor type because I often followed along behind them when their repairs didn't actually fix the problem, which recurred.

I do note, however, that B&S maintenance requirements often specify replacing spark plugs after a few hundred hours of machine operation as a matter of routine maintenance. I suppose that would justify routine replacement of spark plugs, but you still aren't really going to know if the plug was the problem or whether you should look further.

Click to expand...

I think you are misinterpreting what Rivets said. He just replaced the plug like most techs and the reasoning is because it is the cheapest route.

Remove and reinstall tested plug $7 and another $7 for diagnostics of the plug so $14 for this scenerio
Remove and reinstall plug $7 new plug $3 so a $10 repair
Remove and reinstall plug $7 Test plug and found to be fauty $7 new replacement plug $3 so this avenue is $17

Even if the plug wasn't the problem the tech took the cheapest route for the customer and then continued diagnostics if that didn't repair it.

If anyone wants to be a quality troubleshooting small engine mechanic and not a parts swapper get one of these

seattlepioneer said:

Ummm. So your method is guessing and supposing what the problem might be, preferring that to testing your theory and knowing for sure?

-Could be a bad spark plug --- replace it.

-Could be a dirty carb ----replace it.

- Could be a bad coil ----replace it.

And so on.

In the furnace repair bus I was part of, this kind of guessing was the mark of a poor repairman.

The good repairman had a extensive skills in how to test possibly defective parts, and tended to work his way through a series of tests until he was confident he had identified the actual problem.

I had quite a bit of experience with repairmen of the poor type because I often followed along behind them when their repairs didn't actually fix the problem, which recurred.

I do note, however, that B&S maintenance requirements often specify replacing spark plugs after a few hundred hours of machine operation as a matter of routine maintenance. I suppose that would justify routine replacement of spark plugs, but you still aren't really going to know if the plug was the problem or whether you should look further.

Click to expand...

DO YOU WANT AN APPRAISAL OF THE VIDEO OR AN ARGUEMENT ?
The latter would seem to be the case
Firstly the economics.
I charge $ 60 / hr to test the plug as he suggests, both hot & cold would take around 20 to 30 minutes so I am charging the customer $ 20 to $ 30 to work out if a $ 7,50 part needs to be replaced.

Next the practicalaties
If the engine is not running then I would have to put the suspect plug into a good engine to get it hot enough to make hot testing readings.
A nursery song comes into mind about a bucket with a hole in it .
Remember he specifically mentions several times a not starting situation.

Now to the theory

1) just about all OHV small engines use a resistor plugs & have done so for decades.
Even a goodly portion of hand held gear uses resistor plugs so he has no idea abut the market he is pretending to be knowledgable of.
2) the resistance of the center electrode is meaningless because it is a tiny fraction of the air gap resistance so he has no understanding of circuitry .
the internal resistance is only used by the plug testing machines at the plug factory to grade the plugs , and yes I have sat behind one for more than one shift.
And if you don't know what it should be reading it is pointless.
3) resistance is proportional to voltage so the resistance readings have to be done at operating voltages which will be in the order of 20,000 V to 80,000 V not the few micro volts that a multimeter uses to determine resistance by means of voltage drop.
4) ever since tier III exhaust emissions came into operation, glazing on the insulator nose has not been done.
Rubbing the nose with a wire brush will leave a conductive metallic streak which is not a good idea at the best of times & of course you can not get to the region masked by the ground strap .
Remember the streak tests you did in high school geology ?
5) modern fuel is conductive at cylinder pressures and it does not wash off with any common solvent , including brake cleaner ( so we are also wasting money on that )
Modern plugs can only be cleaned with either silica abrasive blasting or by being burned off with an oxygen rich flame ( more additional costs )
6) next the plug has to fire at cylinder compression so proper testing is done at the pressure appropriate for the engine in question .

Proper plug testers fire the plug at the proper frequency for the engine they are to be used in . They are tested by varying the voltage in a fixed pressure ( appropriate to the engine ) then at a fixed voltage , appropriate to the ignition system and varying the pressure.
The machines used to be given away to mechanics who sold better than 2000 plugs a year or could be bought for around $ 10,000.
The time taken to set the machine up plus the operating costs ( it uses compresses air & electricity ) plus the testing time have to paid for some how which can again only be added to the price of replacement plug or the engine service.

Now I am a newbie & have only been servicing small engines daily for a living for the past 7 years .
It takes me all of about 5 minutes to determine if a no - start is ignition or fuel related and another 30 seconds to try a new plug and in most cases when I ask the customer to demonstrate their problem the sound , sight & smells will be enough for me to know where to start looking if not make an immediate fix.
If the engine did not start and the fuel system is working the plug will be wet, don't need a VOM to see that, just a functioning brain & a pair ( or at least one ) functioning eye ( actually you could just smell the plug ).

Now I have only done around 3000 jobs on small engines but I am yet to come across an intermittant problem that is plug related on a mower.
I have seen it on motorcycle engines but it was always a gradeof plug that was not compatiable with the ignition system


SO my honest opinion,
He is a WANKER desperately trying to supliment his income from face book advertising revenue or a moron seeking to massarge his ego which is several factors larger than his IQ

If a plug looks kind of old, I replace it and test it later. If it tests good, it gets cleaned then goes into a used plug box as a spare, in case I happen to run across a bad plug in a customers engine.

At least that's the way I've always done it. Now with the shop in town, a part store just down the road that delivers, seems I don't even bother with them any more.

Hammermechanicman said:

If anyone wants to be a quality troubleshooting small engine mechanic and not a parts swapper get one of these

Aviation Spark Plug Testers 110V And 220V | Aircraft Spruce

Aviation Spark Plug Testers 110V And 220V Designed to clean and test all 14mm & 18mm massive and fine-wire electrode aviation sparkplugs.

www.aircraftspruce.com

Click to expand...

Well for $2K, you mean I can become a professional? WOW. going from a 3 to a 10 for just $2k.

I'll take 2 of them. LoL

I buy champion plugs in the 24 count shop packs for a couple dollars each. Not worth the time or effort to even consider some type of irrelevant testing. Using an ohmmeter on a plug is a waste of time.
The guy in the vid has no idea how spark plugs work in the real world. Another one of those it's on the internet it must be true things. On another forum a guy was posting about how a battery (kettering) ignition system worked. Didn't know is backside from a hole in the ground saying "When the points close charging the coil and firing the spark" It's on the internet it must be true.

I appreciate the explanations.

The consensus is that using an ohmmeter to test spark plugs is a waste of time.

Replacing the spark plug as a matter of routine is the preferred option for dealing with the spark plug issue. This is supported by the common B&S specification to replace the spark plug after 100 hours of engine operation.

I have rarely changed out spark plugs myself. I'll have to change that practice.

Thanks for the help and advice.

seattlepioneer said:

I appreciate the explanations.

The consensus is that using an ohmmeter to test spark plugs is a waste of time.

Replacing the spark plug as a matter of routine is the preferred option for dealing with the spark plug issue. This is supported by the common B&S specification to replace the spark plug after 100 hours of engine operation.

I have rarely changed out spark plugs myself. I'll have to change that practice.

Thanks for the help and advice.

Click to expand...

It is a time issue. It cost the same labor wise to install a new plug as opposed to the old plug. Just put a spark tester on a engine this morning and the tester said the plug was firing. Pulled the plug and it was wet. Installed new plug and it fired right up. Would crank all day long with the plug that the spark tester said was firing but wasn't

ILENGINE said:

It is a time issue. It cost the same labor wise to install a new plug as opposed to the old plug. Just put a spark tester on a engine this morning and the tester said the plug was firing. Pulled the plug and it was wet. Installed new plug and it fired right up. Would crank all day long with the plug that the spark tester said was firing but wasn't

Click to expand...

Thanks for the benefit of your experience and that of others posting. You guys have convinced me!

Of course for me I haven't had an inventory of spark plugs conveniently available. But I'm now supposing I should buy a couple of new plugs for each piece of equipment I have, plus another to replace the old plug in the equipment now.

And I will look up the plug recommend by B&S so I'm not installing the wrong plug in equipment, which I suppose I've done pretty often.

Most of the You Tube videos I've seen test the plug by removing the plug, grounding it an observing the spark or using an in line tester. Replacing the plug as a matter of routine is a rare practice on You Tube. Apparently that's a mistake.

Seattle. All the inline spark testers will show false positives in some cases. Also grounding the plug and seeing spark doesn't mean that the plug is firing under compression or in some cases the spark will jump from the center electrode to the side of the plug instead just jumping the gap even though it is narrower than the path the spark is taking will not fire under load.

Grounding the plug and looking for spark is more of a verification that the ignition system is working..

There are a lot of pure garbage videos on youtube. In most cases, you have to already know what you're doing to be able recognize garbage when you see it.

ILENGINE said:

Seattle. All the inline spark testers will show false positives in some cases. Also grounding the plug and seeing spark doesn't mean that the plug is firing under compression or in some cases the spark will jump from the center electrode to the side of the plug instead just jumping the gap even though it is narrower than the path the spark is taking will not fire under load.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the additional comments.

My experience as a furnace repairman was that a part was MOST LIKELY to be bad when it was new, right out of the box.

Have you found new spark plugs that were no good, or does the manufacturer's inspection/quality control eliminate that?

<< All the inline spark testers will show false positives in some cases. >>


Heh, heh! Of course I bought one of these a couple of weeks ago....

But if they show a plug is no good, that test would be reliable?

seattlepioneer said:

Thanks for the additional comments.

My experience as a furnace repairman was that a part was MOST LIKELY to be bad when it was new, right out of the box.

Have you found new spark plugs that were no good, or does the manufacturer's inspection/quality control eliminate that?

Click to expand...

Had a 24 plug shop pack of J19LM that all failed within 10 minutes of first run after installation

cpurvis said:

Grounding the plug and looking for spark is more of a verification that the ignition system is working..

There are a lot of pure garbage videos on youtube. In most cases, you have to already know what you're doing to be able recognize garbage when you see it.

Click to expand...

So you regard that as verifying that the high voltage spark is likely functioning, not that the spark plug is OK? Presumably an in line spark tester produces similar results? But neither method reliably tests the spark plug.

That appears to be consistent with B&S specifications that commonly specify routine replacement of the spark plug after so many hours of engine operation rather than trying to test the spark plug.

Here is an example of 3 spark testers. First off none of these will tell you if the spark plug is bad or not. What they will tell you. First is the inline neon tester. It will tell you if the system is generating energy and is making it to ground somewhere. Just because it flashes doesn't mean the energy jumped the plug gap. A shorted internally or fouled plug can let the tester flash but plug may or may not be working properly. This type tester is especially good at finding failing coils on twin cylinder engines. Install one one each cylinder and if a coil is failing after runnibg for a while this type will show it.
The second one, the Briggs tester has a calibrated gap and is used without a spark plug. It will tell you if you have spark and if it has enough energy to run an engine. This is a good tester to check the basic condition of the system. If the spark can jump the gap it will run the engine.
The third one with adjustable gap can tell you how much relative energy the ignition can put out. None of these will tell you if the timing is off. There is also the 3 point spark test you can do with the adjustable tester but i have never neede to do it. Taking the plug out and laying against the block is NOT a good check of the plug or the ignition system.

ILENGINE said:

Had a 24 plug shop pack of J19LM that all failed within 10 minutes of first run after installation

Click to expand...

Bummer there. How did they fail? internal short?

We don’t call it a mistake, we call it a learning experience.

Hammermechanicman said:

Bummer there. How did they fail? internal short?

Click to expand...

Appeared to fail open. Install plug, start engine, and within 3-10 engine would die. Check for fire and find none, replace plug and repeat. Spring tune up period so customer would return mower saying it just died. Multiple engines over a few week period.

ILENGINE said:

Appeared to fail open. Install plug, start engine, and within 3-10 engine would die. Check for fire and find none, replace plug and repeat. Spring tune up period so customer would return mower saying it just died. Multiple engines over a few week period.

Click to expand...

I wonder if those were part of the ones that were the first batches out of Mexico. They had problems when they first opened the plant there.

ILENGINE said:

Had a 24 plug shop pack of J19LM that all failed within 10 minutes of first run after installation

Click to expand...

Which means someone dropped them probably in shipping.

slomo

You guys got it ALL wrong. I've never seen so many supertechs argue over a spark plug. This is like "what is the best oil to run" flame war. Break out the popcorn.

slomo

Inline spark testers showing false positives LOL

Hammermechanicman said:

Bummer there. How did they fail? internal short?

Click to expand...

If they were shorted they would ALL work.

slomo

Hammermechanicman said:

I wonder if those were part of the ones that were the first batches out of Mexico. They had problems when they first opened the plant there.

Click to expand...

And today is 28,000,000 plugs later. Probably safe to rule out Mexico.

slomo

slomo said:

Inline spark testers showing false positives LOL

If they were shorted they would ALL work.

slomo

Click to expand...

By internal short i meant the plug arcs internally from the center conductor to the metal shell.

slomo said:

Which means someone dropped them probably in shipping.

slomo

Click to expand...

That was also my thought, but that styrofoam packing box that Champion shop packs come in would of had some serious damage.

ILENGINE said:

That was also my thought, but that styrofoam packing box that Champion shop packs come in would of had some serious damage.

Click to expand...

Remember they have ceramic insulators. Either a bad batch or they were dropped. One thing for sure is they went like hot cakes.

slomo

Hammermechanicman said:

By internal short i meant the plug arcs internally from the center conductor to the metal shell.

Click to expand...

Electrically speaking, that is not a short. Shorts are caused by excessive current, blow breakers and burn wires and houses down. I know what you meant. Just busting your chops LOL.

slomo

How often did a new plug fail testing?

Hammermechanicman said:

You can't look at a spark plug and tell if it is good or not. You need special equipment to test a spark plug. For $2 it is more expedient for a shop to replace a plug and see is that solves a spark issue rather than looking for a high tension spark plug tester. Some of us buffons running small engine shops may have some skills other than mowers. I serviced printing equipment for 40 years. Some of it multi million dollar systems with some single repair parts costing thousands of dollars. You better be able to troubleshoot logically or else look for another job

when aircraft were in for scheduled maint the plugs were removed, cleaned and tested. If they failed they wefe replaced. Some radial engines have 36 cylinders with two plugs per cylinder and 2 or 4 engines. With 2 engines that is 144 plugs and at close to $10 a plug aircraft owners don't want to drop an extra $1500 for plugs. Yes we tested and documented new plugs.

Click to expand...

That seems like a good plan for reliable operation!

Presumably the second spark plug is for redundancy should one plug fail. Then have regular maintenance scheduled with each plug being tested to catch any that might have failed, and test new plugs to be sure they are good. How often did you find one of the two plugs failing the test, and how often was this maintenance was performed?

Thanks for the interesting story!

seattlepioneer said:

How often did a new plug fail testing?

Click to expand...

If you are talking about aircraft plugs no new ones failed but you have to document everything on the annual. When a plug went into a plane it has documentation. Hell, i had to document when i put nitrogen in struts and air in tires.

How to test a spark plug the CHEAP WAY.
1. remove the sparkplug from your engine.
2. reconnect the spark plug wire to the spark plug
3. Grab a neighborhood kid off their bicycle and have them hold the end of the spark plug.
4. it's best for them to remove their shoes to have a good ground
5. pull the starter rope, if they don't holler you ain't got no spark, if they grimace or just whine... You have weak spark, if they jump back and cry you have good spark and continue troubleshooting. Also the higher they jump and the louder scream, the more powerful your spark is.

Scrubcadet10 said:

How to test a spark plug the CHEAP WAY.
1. remove the sparkplug from your engine.
2. reconnect the spark plug wire to the spark plug
3. Grab a neighborhood kid off their bicycle and have them hold the end of the spark plug.
4. it's best for them to remove their shoes to have a good ground
5. pull the starter rope, if they don't holler you ain't got no spark, if they grimace or just whine... You have weak spark, if they jump back and cry you have good spark and continue troubleshooting. Also the higher they jump and the louder scream, the more powerful your spark is.

Click to expand...

Had an engine years ago that you would only do that once. You grab the plug wire and I will turn the flywheel very very slowly. Until it clicked and you got hit with a full magneto discharge.

Once asked an old boat mechanic how to test boat spark plugs. He said drive boat to middle of lake. Take spark plugs out and place them carefully on The surface of the water. If they float they are good. Put them back in. If they sink they are bad.

ILENGINE said:

Had an engine years ago that you would only do that once. You grab the plug wire and I will turn the flywheel very very slowly. Until it clicked and you got hit with a full magneto discharge.

Click to expand...

Must've had an impulse coupling.

Hammermechanicman said:

If you are talking about aircraft plugs no new ones failed but you have to document everything on the annual. When a plug went into a plane it has documentation. Hell, i had to document when i put nitrogen in struts and air in tires.

Click to expand...

When I was in college, I worked PT for a guy who owned a fleet of WWII bombers, patrol planes, and freighters (Douglas A/B-26, Lockheed PV-2, R5D, and Douglas DC-7) used as air tankers. Most had either the P&W R2800 or R2000; the -7's had R3350's. IIRC, the bottom cylinders used dual wire electrode plugs. Those Pratts ran so smooth you could read the engine data plates from the pilot's seat with the engine running. Of course, the cowls had to be off.

cpurvis said:

Must've had an impulse coupling.

Click to expand...

Wisconsin 7 hp engine with magneto ignition

cpurvis said:

When I was in college, I worked PT for a guy who owned a fleet of WWII bombers, patrol planes, and freighters (Douglas A/B-26, Lockheed PV-2, R5D, and Douglas DC-7) used as air tankers. Most had either the P&W R2800 or R2000; the -7's had R3350's. IIRC, the bottom cylinders used dual wire electrode plugs. Those Pratts ran so smooth you could read the engine data plates from the pilot's seat with the engine running. Of course, the cowls had to be off.

Click to expand...

The airport i worked at one summer specialized in servicing turboprob Aero Commanders and planes with radials. Since i was a high school kid i changed oil, serviced spark plugs, checked tire and strut pressures and washed planes. Saw a few R2800's and R2180's and others i can't remember. We did regular maint on a Howard 500. Nothing like an oil change that requires a 55 gallon barrel of Aeroshell 40wt. Per engine. That was almost 50 years ago.

cpurvis said:

When I was in college, I worked PT for a guy who owned a fleet of WWII bombers, patrol planes, and freighters (Douglas A/B-26, Lockheed PV-2, R5D, and Douglas DC-7) used as air tankers. Most had either the P&W R2800 or R2000; the -7's had R3350's. IIRC, the bottom cylinders used dual wire electrode plugs. Those Pratts ran so smooth you could read the engine data plates from the pilot's seat with the engine running. Of course, the cowls had to be off.

Click to expand...

Howcum you aircraft mechanics are working on lawnmowers these days?

seattlepioneer said:

Howcum you aircraft mechanics are working on lawnmowers these days?

Click to expand...

Worked all 4 years of high school as a pinspotter mechanic at a small bowling alley. Went to the AMF school for 2 weeks when i was 14 and got certified. During the summers i worked other jobs. One summer it was at an airport in the maint hanger. Even though i wasn't an A&P mechanic they let me touch tools. Charlie Wells ran the maint hanger and he liked me. Used to take me to lunch in his 33 Duesenberg. The other high school guys swept floors and washed planes and painted stuff. After HS spent 3 years gathering intelligence for the NSA on on East Germans and Soviets in Berlin while I was a teenager. After than came home and worked 40 years fixing copiers and printers. Been running a mower shop on the side since the early 90's. I enjoy working on engines and equipment. I am retired so now the mower shop is pretty much full time.

Hammermechanicman said:

Worked all 4 years of high school as a pinspotter mechanic at a small bowling alley. Went to the AMF school for 2 weeks when i was 14 and got certified. During the summers i worked other jobs. One summer it was at an airport in the maint hanger. Even though i wasn't an A&P mechanic they let me touch tools. Charlie Wells ran the maint hanger and he liked me. Used to take me to lunch in his 33 Duesenberg. The other high school guys swept floors and washed planes and painted stuff. After HS spent 3 years gathering intelligence for the NSA on on East Germans and Soviets in Berlin while I was a teenager. After than came home and worked 40 years fixing copiers and printers. Been running a mower shop on the side since the early 90's. I enjoy working on engines and equipment. I am retired so now the mower shop is pretty much full time.

Click to expand...

So----
You've worked in a number of different repair specialties.

How much do you find being a repairman involves skills that readily translate to different specialties, and how much do you find that each specialty involves distinctly different skills?

A good comparison might be contrasting doing engine repairs vs doing bowling equipment repair or printer and copier repair?

<< After HS spent 3 years gathering intelligence for the NSA on on East Germans and Soviets in Berlin while I was a teenager >>

I had a friend who had immigrated from Germany as a youth and was a native German speaker. He was drafted into the army in the early 1960s and was trained in Chinese and did work probably similar to your.

He wound up with a PhD in Microbiology ---- very smart. I expect the army was on the lookout for very smart people to do that kind of work.

I presume you, too have high intelligence. Has that been a marked advantage in mastering various repair specialties such as those you describe?

seattlepioneer said:

Howcum you aircraft mechanics are working on lawnmowers these days?

Click to expand...

For the same reason that B & S is filing a chapter 11 and the dud management from McDonald Douglas has sent Boeing to the wall.
Cheaper to outsource all of the engine work and shift responsibility for safety from you to the contractors, despite the fact that you know how much it should cost and only pay them 1/2 of that.
Any airline who flys to a 3rd world country gets the maintenance done there for the same reason if they own the planes or engines
Engine makers now lease engines , usually by the flying hours and all of them have their major overhauling facility in a 3rd world country.
The number of fanatics who have hangers full of old aircraft that are in flying condition is dropping like a stone.
This only leaves private owners with very small planes to directly employ mechanics if they don't do it themselves.
The last time I checked the USA had the worst air safety record of any country on the planet in both absolute & per flying hours terms .
Last year we burried a member who was involved in a mid air collision over Alaska.
It was a news item down here for over a month but barely got a mention in the USA press .
A Korean, Chinese or Russian air crash seems to get a lot more USA press than any local ones, political interfearence ?

If the management of an Australian company had followed the same path as Briggs they would all be suspended without pay pending criminal charges
The entire board of directors would be declaired unfit to hold an office of public trust and be forced to resign all paid directorships
And the company would now be run by a government appointed administrator .
And I always thought the Australian company laws were as weak as tap water.
If the company goes bust, the first creditor that has to be paid in full is the tax man.
After taxes it is employees benefits & pensions followed by salaried staff then suppliers & finally shareholders.

seattlepioneer said:

Howcum you aircraft mechanics are working on lawnmowers these days?

Click to expand...

I'm not. I never got the A&P or IA (inspector) license a real aircraft mechanic is required to have. I did a lot of work on airplanes, both other people's and my own, but all my work had to be inspected and signed off by an A&P or IA.

That was during college and once I graduated, I moved away.

In high school, I worked as a mechanic on farm equipment. I probably learned more doing that than I did working on planes because I had no mechanic experience at all going into that job. Changing from farm equipment to aircraft is not that big of a jump. You just have to add some safety wire pliers and Cleco's to the tool box.

seattlepioneer said:

So----
You've worked in a number of different repair specialties.

How much do you find being a repairman involves skills that readily translate to different specialties, and how much do you find that each specialty involves distinctly different skills?

A good comparison might be contrasting doing engine repairs vs doing bowling equipment repair or printer and copier repair?

Click to expand...

Well......spending 5 nights a week during all 4 years of HS and spending all your free time working on cars sort of makes you a dick socially in HS. If you can fix machines then you can fix machines. If you can't you can't. Other than the 2 weeks at the AMF school everthing else is self learned. Biggest difference in the service industry is do you interact with customers and what level. Do you have the mechanical skills and the customer skills? Nothing like standing in front of a vice president and telling him the printer will be down another 24 hours because FedEx lost the part you ordered and the machine has already been down for a day and he is telling you they lose $50,000 in production every 8 hr shift the printer is down. You better be able sing and dance at the same time. Machines are easy, people not so much.

If I had an employee that wasted any time testing a spark plug, I would fire him.

This forum is about working on lawn mowers,
not the space shuttle.

Fish said:

If I had an employee that wasted any time testing a spark plug, I would fire him.

Click to expand...

And......nobody has the equipment to actually test a plug anyway.

Fish said:

This forum is about working on lawn mowers,
not the space shuttle.

Click to expand...

OK Taryl

Who is Taryl?

Fish said:

Who is Taryl?

Click to expand...

Yes, I remember seeing that video.
Why, did he steal my space shuttle line? I've been using that one for a long time.

Here, I think I was using this long before, but on this site, that was the earliest.